Sustainable Future San Diego

The Podcast of San Diego's SUSTAINABLE FUTURE radio talk show. We cover Renewable Energy Technology, Home and Building Green Renovation, Land Use Planning, Food, Water, and the Environment. To protect our collective future.

Sunday, July 5, 2015

The first use of designed-in, energy efficient German pigments in
American paints occurred in the 1970's in collaborations between metal
roofing manufacturers and makers of industrial coatings. These coatings
contained infra­red (IR) and mixed metal oxide (MMO) pigments, were
factory applied, and were expensive. Their chemistry was toxic solvent
based, and they were exceptionally durable, eventually becoming the
standard for commercial and industrial buildings.

Metallic pigments are much more efficient in reflecting away the
sun's radiation (infra-red spectrum) than standard organic liquid tints.
This trend was brought to the high-end, residential marketplace into
the 1980's and hasn’t changed since. The high cost of the metal roof
coating system known as Kynar™ (over $100 per gallon) only suited
large-capital corporate and industrial jobs and those with unlimited
budgets since the lifespan of 20 to 30 years before these coatings
failed. Variations of the technology were taken up in military
applications as well.

In Australia, there was a huge need for durable, efficient, cool
coatings for metal and tile roofs that could be inexpensively
field-applied to buildings in the torrid Outback, tropical Queensland
and the rest of the vast Australian continent. Thirty years ago, the
Australians went with the best acrylic latexes of the day and their own
version of the German factory-ground pigments to develop water-based
coatings that had the capability to provide the heat reflecting they
needed.

While these coatings were slightly more expensive than standard
tinted paint formulas (and could not be made at the local store), they
still cost much less than the solvent-based roof coatings. Their fully
renewable 12 to 15-year lifespans added to their cost-savings benefits
with twice the lifespan of standard paints. These paints cooled the
buildings dramatically by reflecting away the majority of the sun's
radiation (solar reflectance) and by emitting a very high percentage of
the heat that did find its way into the underlying substrate materials
(thermal emissivity).

Another advantage of reflective paints is that they these required no
special procedures to apply, while being substantially more
environmentally friendly with low odor. This was in part because the IR
reflecting, MMO inorganic pigments were low toxic by their nature, with
low-VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) unlike the liquid organic-based
standard paint tinting systems. They also did not fade, another big
plus, and these paints were breathable but waterproof when used on walls
(think Gore-Tex™).

These thermally emissive/reflective coatings offer a range of applications such as on roofs
and walls of buildings. These coatings will adhere to a variety of
materials such as composite roof shingles, metal roofs, and concrete
tile roofs as well as stucco, plywood, and concrete block walls.
Manufacturers offer a wide assortment of formulations. So be sure to
read the spec sheet and get the correct type before application. When
considering thermally emissive/reflective cool coatings be sure to look
for metal oxide and infra-red emissive pigments. These ingredients are
necessary to block ultra violet rays and reflect infrared radiation.

Heat reflective coatings that have met the standards of the Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) can qualify for LEED
credit. This credit is available for new construction and existing
building LEED projects. The purpose of this credit is to promote the
reduction of the heat island effect, which is a known cause of increased
temperatures and pollution in urban areas. In addition, for buildings
in the state of California, many of these products exceed the state’s
Title 24 energy efficiency requirements of 70% solar reflectance for
commercial and residential buildings.

It is important to note that a thermally emissive/reflective coating is not meant to insulate. Insulation
is used to slow the transfer of heat. Thermally reflective coatings are
used to reflect the heat. If the reflective coating is doing its job,
the demand on insulation decreases. This assistance is similar to radiant barriers.

A
common misconception is that heat reflective coatings, such as cool
walls and cool roofs, can only be found in light colors. However,
thermally reflective coatings are offered in a variety of colors to suit
design specifications. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory offers
a Pigment Database
for more detailed information. Generally, lighter colors do offer a
higher level of thermal reflectance though a quick review of the
database reveals many viable options.

Financial Benefits of Cool Paint Technology

Exterior wall paint job life-cycles can be increased by a minimum of
50% percent and as much as 100%. Combined with electrical cost savings
of up to 22% (results for Los Angeles residence in U.S.- D.O.E. Cool
Wall Paints study, 2007), in locales where air-conditioning is normally
used, these solar-reflective paints just on the walls means large and
measurable financial paybacks to those who utilize them for repaint and
new construction projects. Further combine this with cool roof top coats
on the same building(s) and energy needs will be massively reduced with
even larger environmental benefits.
You can calculate the energy cost savings for cool paint for your location with the US Dept. of Energy's Cool Roof Calculator. (link is external)

Cool Roof Rebates and Environmental Impact

Reflective wall coatings are the last area to be explored by the
residential paint manufacturing industry, but the new LEED (Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design) and national Green-Seal standards
will recognize them as a significant factor in total building energy
efficiency. After all, wall surface areas will equal or exceed that of
the roof surface square footage when the buildings are more than one
story tall. And with the amount of energy cool paints can save, it’s no
wonder rebates are available.

Rebates, LEED Credits, and the Green Seal

This means that having the walls coated with solar-reflective paints
will ensure added energy cost reductions for air conditioning and this
will serve to increase the return on investment for any such paint job.
LEED credits for both non-roof and cool roof coatings are available (see
LEED Credit 7.1 & 7.2 respectively), which can qualify for energy
tax credits, increased property values, and publicity benefits for
buildings so coated. Depending upon the zip code, public utilities like PG&E and SMUD (link is external)
are already giving residential rebates for Cool Roof Rating Council
(CRRC) qualified "cool roof” top coats for both steep slope and low
slope roof types.

Environmental Impact

Carbon pollution reduction from cooling down roofs and walls in our
city environments is a real way to reduce the "Urban Heat Island Effect"
caused by buildings absorbing the sun's radiation, then re-radiating
that heat after the sun goes down. This "hidden" environmental benefit
is one that we must all hope we'll be able to notice. Lawrence Berkeley
Labs has quantified that 663 grams of CO2 is the environmental "cost"
for every kilowatt hour (KWh) of electricity produced by conventional
power plants. The average California house in turn uses 3,000 to 4,000
KWh per year for electricity for cooling from these plants. That equals
approximately 2,650 lbs. of CO2 emitted to produce that power per Los
Angeles household.

Therefore, every reduction in that energy demand has a direct bearing
on how much atmospheric, heat-inducing pollution is prevented. When
cool paint and cool roof coatings can make an 8% to 60% factored per
household reduction in this electricity used, it's easy to see why so
energy companies and the government are offering rebates to begin with.

A paint specification provides detailed information about preparation
for specific substrates, application, color, clean up etc. and
specifies what exact products will be used on the repaint: so all
contractors will be bidding on the same value line product. This
provides the customer a standard to evaluate the painting contractor bids
(i.e. so one contractor doesn't include standard paint in the bid while
another uses premium). A specification is also a legal document, so the
material must be used as directed.
The paint specification should include the following:

Paint Product Line–Determines the performance and
longevity of the repaint. Premium lines are products engineered to offer
excellent hide, color retention, and resistance to chalking and
blistering. A standard line offers good performance when budget
constraints are an issue.

Specific Primers–Includes the primers necessary for
all surfaces of the building to be painted, such as wood, ferrous and
non-ferrous metal, concrete, and stucco.

Keep in mind that Product Information (PI) Sheets and Material
Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are available on all paint products to explain
the technical make-up of the product as well as to provide any special
instructions.

from ECHO-CA.ORG - Michael Biel is the founder of The Ultimate Coatings Company. He has
been associated with the trade of both residential and commercial
painting for 22 years. He was a high-end house painter/restorer for a
majority of that time and was sales consultant, estimator and trainer to
a well-known northern California painting contractor for their property
management clientele.

The group reveals that not only are hundreds of marine species likely
to be wiped out as more and more carbon dioxide is dissolved in the
Earth’s oceans but also that creatures that do survive – in particular
those with shells, such as clams, oysters and snails – will be left puny
and shrunken as a result.

“We have already seen this effect in commercial oyster beds in the
US, where marine farmers have had to stop growing young oysters in sea
water because their shells could no longer form properly in our
increasingly acidic seas. Instead they have to grow them in tanks where
water acidity can be controlled,” said marine biologist Professor Jason Hall-Spencer, of Plymouth University.
“And as the oceans get even more acidic, the problem of species
shrinkage – known as the Lilliput effect – will become more and more
common. It is a clear warning of the extreme dangers we are facing as
carbon emissions continue to rise around the planet.”

Scientists estimate that the oceans absorb around a million tonnes of
carbon dioxide every hour. As a result our seas have become 30% more
acidic than they were a century ago. This increased acidity plays havoc
with levels of calcium carbonate, which forms the shells and skeletons
of many sea creatures, and also disrupts reproductive activity. These
threats have led to the phenomenon of ocean acidification being dubbed
global warming’s “equally evil twin”.

Ocean acidification is not new, however. During the Permian extinction 252m
years ago – an event linked to soaring atmospheric carbon dioxide
levels triggered by volcanic eruptions – swaths of species were wiped
out both on land and in the sea. At the same time, many of the marine
creatures that survived were greatly reduced in size. Now scientists
have shown this effect in operation today and have traced the cause.

Its volcano, which has given its name to all other volcanoes, leaves a
distinct sulphurous smell over its beaches of black volcanic sand and
belches out about 10 tonnes of carbon dioxide a day. Much of this gas
bubbles up through offshore vents, making the island’s coastal waters
highly acidic.
“These patches of acidic water are ideal place to study the effects
of ocean acidification,” added Hall-Spencer, one of the project’s
scientists. “By studying marine creatures and plants living at varying
distances from a vent, we could get a very clear idea of the impact of
carbon dioxide on their make-up.”

Close to the vents, nothing can survive – not even seaweed. Further
away, the marine life increases. The intriguing difference for
Hall-Spencer and his colleagues lay with several species of sea snail,
in particular Cyclope nerita and Nassarius corniculus, that were found around the shore of Vulcano.
Essentially, the nearer a colony was to a carbon dioxide vent, the
smaller and weaker the individual snails were: with the shells from high
CO2 seawater areas about a third smaller than those in “normal”
environments. In many cases, these adaptations had allowed the snails to
survive for many generations in extremely hostile conditions.

“The two species of snails adapted their metabolic rates to cope with
the acidified seawater,” said Dr Vittorio Garilli, from Palermo
University. “These physiological changes allowed the animals to maintain
calcification and to partially repair shell dissolution.”

The study, published in Nature Climate Change,
provides precise details of how dwarfing occurs in a specific species
and demonstrates how marine creatures will struggle to survive as our
oceans become more acidic.

Monday, July 7, 2014

As the exploding crisis in Iraq spotlights once again the tragic record of American policy in the Middle East, Bill speaks with investigative journalist Charles Lewis, whose new book, “935 Lies” details the many government falsehoods that have led us into the current nightmare. A complicit partner, he says, is a media intent on preserving the status quo and never offending the ruling elite.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

The bee colony collapse disorder mystery has been solved.In spite of denials that claim neonicatinoid pesticides are not lethal to bees, a new Harvard study fingers neonics as the key driver of colony collapse disorder. The experiment couldn't have been simpler. Working with nearby beekeepers, Harvard researcher Chensheng Lu and his team treated 12 colonies with tiny levels of neonics and kept six control hives free of the popular chemicals. All 18 hives made it through summer without any apparent trouble. Come winter, though, the bees in six of the treated hives vanished, leaving behind empty colonies—the classic behavior of colony collapse disorder. None of the six control hives experienced a CCD-style disappearing act, although one did succumb to a common-to-bees gut pathogen called nosema.

This year, beekeepers in Ohio, for example, reported winter losses of 50 percent to 80 percent.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Friday, July 20, 2012

San Diego Speaks presents Bob Filner - running for San Diego Mayor 2012, at the Pacific Beach Town Council meeting at the PB Women's Club, Wednesday, July 18, 2012.

Promises: I will get the City to put Solar Panels on EVERY City and School Building.
I will consult with neighborhood councils to invent local solutions.
I will find a way to deal with homelessness without breaking our back.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Saturday, January 21, 2012

When SEMPRA uses rate-payer fees (i.e. taxes) to open their NEW SDG&E 'Energy Innovation Center' (i.e. propaganda center), they were met with protesters. Planning to charge people with Solar Panels a 'fee' for using the public electric grid. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) rejected the SDG&E "Network Usage" fee.